


rewound

by icemakestars



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Heart Attacks, Hurt No Comfort, M/M, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 21:48:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16941363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icemakestars/pseuds/icemakestars
Summary: Every day is the same, and Natsu cannot cope. Gray does not understand why, but still has to cope with the aftermath of his loss.





	rewound

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chiyala (Shiningangel)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shiningangel/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Rewind](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8419549) by [Chiyala (Shiningangel)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shiningangel/pseuds/Chiyala). 



> This is dedicated to Chiyala's fic Rewind! Go read if you haven't already!

There was rarely a boring day at Fairy Tail. Whether it be a festival, a tournament, or an old-fashioned brawl, there was always something to keep Gray Fullbuster occupied. Today, however, was not of those days, and as Gray sat and waited for something – anything – to happen, he froze and unfroze the water in his glass, drifting off into a hazy daydream, thinking about nothing in particular. Natsu would be here soon, and then they would be able to go on their job. It was reckless, being late when Erza was already packed and ready. Maybe he would spend some time with Lucy whilst traveling, ask her about her novel. Did he remember to lock the front door and bring his lunch? Probably.

The door slammed open, and Gray briefly hoped that it would be Natsu, just so he would have an excuse to start a fight with him over the ruckus. Gray turned in his chair, already opening shouting as he does so,

"Oi, Flame Bra-"

"WENDY, ERZA, LAXUS! With me,  _now_!"

Jellal's eyes were wild and frantic as he glanced around the guild, red blotches framing his already tear-stained face. Erza looked desperately like she wanted to question his sudden arrival, and Laxus glared stubbornly, not appreciating Jellal's sharp and commanding tone, however they both noted the clear urgency and ardent despair clouding Jellal's features.  By the time they started moving Wendy was already at the door, Charla hovering in her wake.

Gray clattered to a standing position, noticing that his shirt had been lost in the movement but not caring to pick it up. Jellal met his eyes, and suddenly his face contorted into unmeasurable sorrow. He turned back to face Lucy.

"Keep Gray in the guild." 

Two dragon slayers, a warrior, a guild master and an exceed, all running in synchronisation as Jellal gave brief details about where they were going. Gray ran to the door, ignoring Lucy's cries to try and keep him in his place. He leant against the open door of the guild hall, trying to catch anything from what Jellal was saying.

"It's Natsu." 

That's all Gray needed to hear. 

He took off running behind them, making sure to keep far enough behind that the dragon slayers would not hear his approach, but close enough that he would not lose sight of them. He was vaguely aware of a presence behind him, but did not bother to check; it was Lucy, of course. No other guild member had tried to stop him from leaving – Freed and his runes, Levy and her solid script or even Gajeel, Pantherlily and Mirajane with sheer force would have no doubt been a terrifying rival for Gray. Under other circumstances, Lucy would have followed the party herself, fuelled by a curiosity that all writers possessed. She would not try and stop him now.

As the houses thinned and the trees grew tall and narrow across the sky, Gray realised that they had not only come to the edge of the town, but were approaching the middle of the forest. At the edge of the forest there is a clearing where they trained on occasion, and at the far end there were the Fairy Hill's accommodation. Beyond that there were cliffs, and then... nothing. A heaviness consumed Gray's lungs, his head becoming dizzy. Judging by Jellal's reaction, whatever had happened to Natsu was bad, really bad, in fact, but so much didn't make sense. Why would Natsu be all the way in the forest – maybe even further – at this time of day? Why had he chosen the specific members of Fairy Tail that he had, and why had he instructed Gray to stay at the guild with Lucy, when he knew both of them were on a team with Natsu? None of it made sense to Gray, but it left him feeling queasily apprehensive. For a moment, he felt glad that he had opted for such a large breakfast.

Lucy was hot on his heels, but she lacked his stamina, and his speed; she soon fell behind, pleading with Gray to wait for her, at least, but his brain was filled with thoughts of Natsu, and nothing else mattered to him than seeing the dragon slayer’s smile.

The forest soon split into a clearing, and Gray could easily spy Fairy Hills, and the cliffs beyond. He heard Wendy’s scream from the forest edge, and only that was enough to stop him. Gray stumbled slightly, the worst fears weaving into his bloodstream and constricting his heart with each agonsing pump. They were standing by the edge of the cliff in a row, Wendy on her knees, Erza draped over her. Laxus had thrown up. 

Gray hoped that he was wrong, that what had happened was something other than the only logical explanation that he could conjure. 

Lucy caught up to him, chest heaving, tears of exhaustion pooling in her wide brown eyes.

“Gray, what’s-” She began, but he silenced her with a sob.

“Natsu... I think...” His eyes were transfixed on the cliff, and that was enough.

“No...” Lucy gasped, hand covering her quivering mouth. 

They both pushed on, and by the time they reached the others Laxus had already recovered Natsu’s body, and Wendy’s sobbing form was bent over it, blue light flickering desperately from her palms, but nothing she did was working, and Erza was inflating Natsu’s lungs with love, her hand thumping his chest. 

It made sense to Gray why Jellal had chosen the people that he had; Laxus was the strongest, so could carry his body. Wendy was a healer, and Erza was mentally the strongest member of their team, and already close to Jellal, who was stood by a rock, whispering to Ultear. They looked concerned, but not sad. Not torn in half, like the other wizards were.

For a second, all Gray could do was take in the scene before him, with Natsu’s grey and rubbery skin and sodden hair and clothes, and then Lucy yells, deep and primal, falling to her knees into the dirt, and it brings Gray back to himself. Which is the last place he wants to be.

Natsu was dead, and that meant a large part of him was too.

A pain tore through, blossoming outwards from his heart, and he almost blacks out with the force of it. Ultear’s arms are around him, and he can hear his own voice, muffled by tears and her chest, but the pain keeps building, suffocating, until it makes up more of him than blood and flesh does. 

How long he sits there cannot be measure by words or feelings; it was an infinite time, a haphazard mixture of love and grief, anger and confusion, but when Gray looks up to the sky, the sun is higher in the air than he remembers, and there’s a chill he was too numb to really feel. 

The pain reaches its crest, and just as Gray thinks that maybe it will settle into something even slightly bearable, it begins again. But this agony is real, visceral, his heart constricting oddly, poorly, until it hardly beats at all. 

Ultear soothes back his hair, turning to face Jellal,

“It’s time.” 

Those were the last words that Gray hears, the last thought he has one of confusion as he wonders what Ultear means, and if now, maybe, he’ll be able to see Natsu again. 


End file.
